I am so sorry this took so long. I have no excuse other than real life really started to pan out for me and I got really caught up in everything and haven't been home to type but after the 1st I'm moving to the city I've been spending all my time in so less time commuting and more time writing yay! There's a bit more of an explanation on my profile if anyone wants more detail on that.

In the last set of reviews I was informed that answering everyone's reviews in the A/N's might get the story taken down (thanks for the heads up) so I'll be looking into that and I'll try PM'ing the peeps I can.

Again, I am so sorry everyone, this was a crazy long delay and even if I lost a few people through this please know I love you all and I'm so sorry, this was an unacceptably long time, I'll try harder from now on. 3!

Blaine was confused. When he had woken up in Mr. Kurt's arms he had been happy. He was still sore and just as tired as he had been before, but Mr. Kurt was always warm and happy – only he wasn't.

"-and then she put it in my eye, Mr. Kurt. It hurt a little but I didn't – "

"That's nice, Blaine," Kurt mumbled absentmindedly as he stroked Blaine's hair. The boy shifted in his keeper's lap and twisted to lie on his back, his head moving so that he could see Kurt more clearly.

"Mr. Kurt –"

"Hmm?"

Blaine stared at Kurt, pressing his head further into his lap. Kurt hummed softly and smiled at Blaine, but he looked distracted.

"I'm glad it went well, Blaine. That's really good."

Blaine bit his lip, continuing to stare. Kurt wasn't looking at him anymore. His hand still stroked slowly through his curls, but as Blaine tried and failed yet again to nudge Kurt into looking at him his heart fell.

Was his conformer ugly? Did it make him look ugly? Kurt was very picky about how he looked: if Blaine was ugly maybe Kurt wouldn't like him anymore. Blaine turned on his side, trying to avoid Kurt's face.

Blaine was already ugly, why would the eye make any difference? Maybe Kurt didn't like that he was trying to look better. Maybe Kurt thought trying to make Blaine look normal was a waste of money. Blaine's face reddened from shame. Of course it was a waste. Getting an eye wouldn't make him see again. It wouldn't take away his scars.

Blaine sat up suddenly as Kurt shifted beneath him.

"I have homework. I'll see you at dinner, Blaine."

Kurt lightly pushed Blaine off him as he stood and made his way to the stairs, not looking back. Blaine watched him go sadly, sliding to the floor once he was out of sight. Kurt thought he was ugly. He shouldn't be on furniture. He wasn't family. He wasn't like them.

Blaine jumped as a loud noise came from where he had just been on the couch. It was Kurt's phone. Picking it up gingerly he turned it over in his hand. The screen was bright and the word 'MERCEDES' hovered over a green and red button. Mercedes was one of the girls from Kurt's school. Kurt would probably want to talk to her.

The phone stopped ringing as he reached the stairs, but he continued on to Kurt's room. Knocking softly on the door Blaine waited quietly outside. Kurt didn't answer. Blaine shifted awkwardly, phone still in hand, before he knocked again. Maybe he hadn't heard him.

"Mr. Kurt?"

"I'm a little busy, Blaine. I'll talk to you later." Kurt's voice was different. Blaine didn't like it.

"Mr. Kurt I – "

"Later, Blaine," Kurt snapped. Blaine stepped away from the door. Mr. Kurt didn't sound happy. Blaine was bothering him. He shouldn't bother Mr. Kurt. He shouldn't bother any of his keepers.

Clutching the phone tightly to his chest he stepped away from the door. He walked slowly down the stairs and into the living room. The phone started to ring again.

Biting his lip, Blaine didn't know what to do. The sound was loud and he didn't know how to make it quiet. Blaine knew that the sound would bother his keepers. He didn't want to bother them anymore.

Shoving it inside the fold of his sweater he managed to muffle the sound. He needed to make it stop. Quickly, Blaine grabbed his blanket and rabbit from the couch and dragged them quickly down the stairs with him. He stumbled a little as he made his way down, unable to focus on the stairs too far past his own feet. His blanket tangled itself around his left foot and he tripped, luckily close enough to the bottom to be able to extend his arms and brace himself against the wall in front of him. He hit the wall forcefully and slid down it sideways until he hit the floor. He cringed at the noise he made and from the slight pain in his ankle. He remained still until he was sure that no one was coming down to yell at him for the noise before he shakily returned to his feet, limping to his bedroom. Once he reached his bed the boy carefully placed his blanket on it in one large clump. Hopefully that would muffle Mr. Kurt's phone enough that it wouldn't bother anyone. Blaine placed his hand in the mound to locate Kurt's phone, wanting to ensure that it was bundled as much as possible. His eye socket throbbed lightly and the pain was slowly spreading through his head. Closing his other eye, both of Blaine's hands began to search the blanket for the phone, but it wasn't there. Opening his eye in horror he quickly stumbled to his feet and limped to his door and peered out into the hallway towards the stairs. At the bottom lay Kurt's phone, the top corner of the glass screen cracked and spidering.

Blaine had broken Mr. Kurt's phone.

Blaine had broken Mr. Kurt's very expensive, very important phone.

He couldn't breathe.

Falling to his knees he crawled to the phone, picking it up gently and cradling it softly in his hands. The broken glass was peeling up off the phone, he couldn't fix it.

Blaine started as he heard a sound coming from the top of the stairs. Looking up he saw a very tired looking Kurt coming towards him.

"Blaine, have you seen my – " he trailed off as his eyes landed on the broken device.

"Mr. Kurt, I – "

Blaine trailed off when he saw his face. He had expected him to be angry, to yell, scream, slap – not cry. He didn't expect to see Mr. Kurt standing still, staring down at the broken phone with no expression on his face, only silent tears sliding gently down his cheeks.

Blaine cautiously lifted his hands to his keeper, but the boy just shook his head.

"Keep it," he said softly, "it's broken. I'll get a new one." With that he turned and walked back up the stairs, not looking back.

Blaine sat motionless. His jaw trembled and his heart hurt as he replayed what Mr. Kurt had said over, and over, and over again in his head.

'It's broken'

His hands tightened around the broken glass as he pulled it close to his body. His one eye began to water as the other started to itch.

'I'll get a new one'

He shook his head furiously as it fell against his chest, blinking away the tears from both eyes and ignoring the pain it caused.

'It's broken'

Blaine could fix it, he could make it better.

'I'll get a new one'

He never wanted to make Mr. Kurt cry. He wished he'd yelled at him – even hit him, but not cried. He never wanted to see Mr. Kurt cry.

'I'll get a new one'

The boy choked out a sob as his forehead hit the floor. His body shook as he cradled the phone. He lay there for what felt like hours, hoping that his keepers would leave him alone while silently wishing that they would all come to comfort him. They wouldn't, and he knew it.

Broken Blaine had broken Mr. Kurt's phone.

Broken Blaine had made Mr. Kurt cry.

His keepers should replace Broken Blaine before he broke anything else.

He wasn't new, he wasn't good, and he wasn't right.

He curled in on himself more, the stress of the day hitting him all at once.

And then the phone rang.

Kurt sighed quietly to himself as he felt Blaine relax into his lap, still sound asleep. He'd been looking forward to coming home and heading straight to his room, but upon seeing Blaine sleeping soundly he couldn't walk away.

Sweet innocent Blaine.

Kurt didn't know what had happened to him before they'd taken him in (he still had trouble admitting they'd bought him – even in thought) but he knew it was bad. Even if Blaine had come to them with both of his eyes and an unmarred face it would have been so easy to tell that the boy had been through hell and back.

And here was Kurt. Selfish, spoiled Kurt who couldn't even put up with stupid jocks teasing him and pushing him into lockers. Coming home Kurt had tried his hardest not to cry, pulling and pulling at the sleeve of his jacket to hide the dark bruise already forming. On his way he'd wanted nothing more than to be home in his room, safe in his bed with no one to tease him, no one to hurt him.

And then he saw Blaine, curled up tightly in Carole's lap with her fingers in his hair, blanket and Carrot pulled up to his chin while 'the Fox and the Hound' played softly in the background.

How could Blaine be so sweet, so innocent, when the entire world saw him as no more than a living tool – something to use and abuse without question? How could anyone hurt someone so gentle, so kind?

Why should Kurt be allowed to hide from the world when Blaine never did.

Blaine stirred in his lap as Kurt continued to stroke his hair gently. Blaine's eye stared up at him briefly, a large and genuine smile gracing his face before he returned to his former position of staring at the television, chatting sleepily to Kurt about his day and perking up slightly as he informed him of the fitting and how good he'd been. Kurt felt a lump form in his throat as he watched Blaine's chest visibly puff with pride as he relayed his tale of bravery.

"-and then she put it in my eye, Mr. Kurt. It hurt a little but I didn't – "

"That's nice, Blaine," Kurt whispered. He was proud of Blaine, he really was. He just felt so guilty for being weak, not strong like him. The boy turned his head to look at Kurt.

"Mr. Kurt," he started, concern evident in his eye. That was just like Blaine to worry about everyone but himself even when he'd gone through so much. Kurt felt as though he was going to cry.

"Hmm," was all he managed, not trusting himself to speak. He felt Blaine's head press against his thigh in an effort to get his attention.

Don't let him worry about you. Don't let him see you're not alright.

"I'm glad it went well, Blaine. That's really good," he said with a forced smile, immediately breaking eye contact with the boy. Blaine shouldn't be worried about him, he shouldn't have to – it wasn't fair and it wasn't right. He couldn't hold it in any longer, he needed to get out. He couldn't let Blaine see him cry.

"I have homework. I'll see you at dinner, Blaine." Kurt tried to nudge Blaine off him, internally cringing at how forceful the nudge had turned out. Blaine didn't deserve this from him. He made his way quickly towards the stairs, hoping Blaine wouldn't follow him – hoping the boy wouldn't see how hard he was already crying.

Kurt had to fight to steady his shaking hands enough to not slam the door behind him before making his way to his bed, flopping down gracelessly before grabbing hold of the edge of his blanket and biting it hard to muffle his sobs.

He had no right to feel this way, none at all. So the jocks teased him, so they pushed him around, so what? He was alive and healthy and free, why couldn't that be good enough? He had no right to feel so weak, he had the freedom to fight back. He could have tried fighting them, but he didn't. It was his choice, and he didn't. Why? Because he was scared. Poor Kurt was scared of a few bullies. Poor Kurt didn't have it in him to defend himself. Poor Kurt could only spew out a few witty comebacks before his fear overtook him and he was rendered mute and helpless.

Poor Kurt.

He tightened his grip on his blanket. He was so ashamed of himself it hurt.

"Mr. Kurt?" Kurt held his breath as the soft voice carried through the door. Blaine was coming to check on him. Of course Blaine would check on him. That's just the kind of person Blaine was, always making sure everyone was okay before himself. Kurt felt a pang of envy as he thought of Blaine's selflessness. And here was Kurt, lying in a pile of self-pity. He took in a deep, shaking breath.

"I'm a little busy, Blaine. I'll talk to you later." Kurt winced at the harshness of his tone, the pain that escaped through his voice.

"Mr. Kurt I – " Blaine sounded too desperate. He shouldn't care this much, Kurt wasn't worth it.

"Later, Blaine," he sobbed, cringing as his voice cracked terribly. He dropped his head down into the sheet, embarrassed and ashamed of himself. He never wanted to cry in front of Blaine.

He sobbed harder as he heard Blaine's gentle footsteps lead away from the door. He'd upset him. Blaine had so much to worry about, Kurt shouldn't add to the list.

Pushing himself up Kurt made his way to the vanity, staring at his blotchy face and red eyes, willing them both away. He needed to apologize to Blaine, show him that it was going to be alright.

Taking a few moments he steadied his breath and watched as his face began to return to its normal colour. His eyes were still pink but he'd have to rely on the hope that (and he hated himself for the thought even before it finished in his mind) Blaine would be Blaine and refuse to look him directly in the eye.

He let out a deep breath and made his way from his room downstairs. He'd expected Blaine to be back on the couch or in the kitchen with Carole – somewhere close to people. He never said anything, but Kurt knew how much Blaine loved and craved the company of others. He wasn't much of a socializer, but he seemed to find comfort in being near others.

But no. Blaine, his blanket, and Carrot were all gone. His room, maybe? Had Kurt hurt his feelings enough he wanted to be alone? How bad did Blaine have to be hurting that he would rather be alone?

He started down the stairs to Blaine's bedroom when he saw the boy in question kneeling at the bottom.

'Blaine, I am so sorry I was short with you, I'm just tired from school.'

'Blaine, I didn't mean to snap at you, I had a bad day and I'm sorry I took it out on you.'

'Blaine, I'm bullied at school and I hate that I'm not strong enough to deal with it like you.'

He meant to explain, he really did, but he saw the outline of his phone in Blaine's hand and he felt so close to breaking again. It would be so much easier to use the excuse that he had come for his phone than to explain himself. He could start small with the phone and go from there. Maybe he wouldn't need to explain. Blaine was Blaine, and if Kurt just spoke to him, maybe he would be forgiven.

"Blaine, have you seen my – "

And then he saw the screen. The broken screen of his expensive iPhone. An iPhone he could no longer afford to replace. His broken iPhone. He hadn't bothered to check it after the jocks had left. He'd been too concerned with getting home unnoticed to look at his stupid phone that the stupid jocks had destroyed.

"Mr. Kurt, I – "

Kurt took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Why the stupid phone felt like the last straw he didn't know, but he could feel himself breaking. He couldn't even feel the tears rolling down his own face. He didn't want to do this anymore, didn't want to feel this way. Didn't want to be this weak person, but he didn't know what else to do. He saw Blaine raise the phone towards him but he shook his head, not wanting to see the damage his bullies had caused up close.

"Keep it," he said softly, "it's broken. I'll get a new one." Kurt turned and began walking back up the stairs, hoping that his words would ease Blaine's mind, that he wouldn't worry that they had no money to replace it or that Kurt was upset it was broken. He hoped Blaine - strong, amazing Blaine - wouldn't be upset by it, that he couldn't see how hurt and upset and broken Kurt was. Because that's how he felt.

Kurt felt as though he was cracking, breaking, and he couldn't do anything about it. He wasn't strong like Blaine.

He was broken, like the damn phone.

As this is the first one I've written in 3 1/2 months I understand that it might not be up to par. If it isn't (I will not be offended in the least) please let me know. If it's a tone thing, doesn't make sense, out of character, ANYTHING please let me know and I will edit it until it gets back on track.

Again, I love you all and sorry there are no review replies :(